


''Friendly'' Competition.

by TomatoBird



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends, M/M, Slow Burn, im very bad at spotting mistakes, so ill be constantly editing chapters, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-13 18:17:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21498415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomatoBird/pseuds/TomatoBird
Summary: Growing up, Raihan and Leon had always had a constant burning rivalry. But as they grow older, the start to realise how much more complicated those feelings really can be.
Relationships: Leon/Raihan
Comments: 138
Kudos: 462





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, for the purpose of how I write these characters, all three of the main group were 16/17 when they started the gym challenge. 
> 
> This 1st chapter takes place about 2 years before said challenge begins.

"Woah! How'd you manage to get one!"

Both Sonia and Raihan stared down, their eyes sparkling at a very small charmander who was very nervous. 

Leon gave a very cocky smile, scoffed and crossed his arms. 

"When we went over to Kanto for the weekend to visit my great uncle. He raises charizard y'see! He said this lil' guy is very special."

Leon patted the small orange Pokemon who let out a scared whimper. 

Raihan raised an eyebrow, looking at how scared he was. 

"He's awfully anxious ain't he?"

Sonia gave Raihan a small glare but Leon nodded. 

"He is, but it's only because he's a small baby. In time, I have a feeling he's going to the strongest Pokemon in all of Galar!"

This time, both Sonia and Raihan laughed. Leon gave them a confused look but he flashed a smirk.

"Don't believe me? I'm going to be the future champion. They'll call me the Unbeatable Leon!"

Leon jumped onto a rock, wobbly striking a pose before losing his footing and falling backwards. 

"Oh yeah! You might want to work on your signature pose first!" 

Raihan teased the fallen boy, which caused Leon's cheeks to go red and he jumped up on his feet. 

"Oh? Well when you get a Pokemon maybe I'll consider a worthy rival!" 

Sonia shook her head at the boys teasing back and forth at each other. She was used to it, they've been like this since they were kids. She did notice however, that Leon seemed to get a kick out of getting Raihan all fired up that was different from how he treated her or anyone else. 

It was interesting but she just quietly observed them. 

"A rival worthy of you? Please! You'll be the one having to catch up with me!" 

Sonia finally spoke up, stepping between the two boys. 

"So Raihan. What's your plan to catch one?"

The duo looked over at the boy, who seemed to be caught off guard before he regained his composure. 

"Wild Area. I'll catch one."

Leon raised an eyebrow, he was taken back by his idea.

"You know what our parents always say. That the wild area is full of extremely strong Pokemon. And you want to go try catch one?" 

Raihan gave him a determined nod, clenching his fists in excitement. 

"Yeah! I mean you can tag along, if you two can keep up." 

"Oh, I can totally keep up. You're on. What about you Sonia? You comin'?"

The red head pondered this for a moment. On the one hand, it would be fun. And on the other hand, her gran will kill her for not listening. Though, there is the chance they won't get caught….

  
  


"Okay! Only to see you guys back out for getting spooked." 

  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the trio walked down the path, they came to see fields as far as the eye can see. Distant sounds of pokemon cries and even huge muffled explosions which they weren't entirely sure where they were coming from. 

"You know, if you're scared we can back right out." 

Leon said as he leaned on Raihan's shoulder, smiling at him in a taunting fashion. The other boy flashed a toothy grin and scoffed. 

"Nah. I think it might be you who might be afraid."

Sonia rolled her eyes while laughing. "You boys really never stop huh? So, where you want to go Raihan? This was your idea after all." 

Raihan playfully pushed Leon off him and he squinted ahead to find a good spot. He saw a small bridge that lead to a small hidden away part of the area.

"There!" 

  
  


As they walked onto the grass, something felt off. 

There was no Pokemon cries, no sounds of grass rustling. Nothing. It was a tiny bit unsettling. 

"Okay, before we go searching. Let's take a selfie together!" 

Raihan took out his phone and Sonia groaned loudly.

"Is this just so you can prove you actually came out here?'

Raihan scoffed but he nodded as he held his phone up high. The three of them smiled brightly, subtly posing and there was a flash from the camera. As they checked it, they noticed something.

"Hey, Raihan. What is that?" Leon said, his voice shaking a tiny bit. Behind them in the photo, was a dark red eye glowing. 

They all slowly turned. 

From the bushes, a very large and strong looking dusclops skulked out. It let out a huge groan as it's one eye set on the group. 

Nobody could move, they watched as the Pokemon edged closer and closer. 

It finally stopped a few feet ahead of them, everyone was silent. The kids didn't dare more in fear of aggravating the wild Pokemon. 

"Let's try to slowly walk away.." Sonia whispered and the two boys nodded nervously. 

That one eye watched them carefully, as they slowly retreated backwards. They were almost to the bridge when Leon stepped on a twig making a snapping noise which echoed in the small field. 

The dusclops didn't move for a minute. It was just staring straight ahead. Just as the kids were going to start again however, it striked. 

A low humming noise came from the Pokemon as a dark orb started to form at its hands and Sonia screamed out in fear.

"Its a shadow ball! Run!" 

And as the move was sent soaring ahead , it narrowly missed them but did manage to separate Leon from the other two. 

As Leon struggled to find his bearings, he suddenly noticed how close the dusclops had gotten. 

"Leon!"

Just as the pokemon started to fire up another shadow ball, Raihan shot forward much to the protest of Sonia.To Leon's surprise, Raihan landed right next to him and pulled him in close. Shielding him from where dusclops was aiming. Raihan braced himself, as he heard it being shot.

But he never felt the impact. The two boys were huddled into each other for what felt like ages. Their breathing in total sync and heartbeats could be heard in their ears.

Finally, they looked over to see what had happened to Dusclops. 

The Pokemon was hidden from view from a new form that stood in between them. 

There was smoke flying around the new Pokemon, presumably from being hit by the shadow ball. It was a tall white Pokemon, shaped what could only be described as.a sky scraper. 

Dusclops made scared whimper before it disappeared back into the forest. 

Both Leon and Raihan were still in each others personal bubbles as they stared in awe at the mystery Pokemon. 

It turned around slowly, staring right at Raihan. Giving him what appeared to be an knowing look. As soon as it was clear that the threat had been dealt with, the Pokemon itself walked away. Soon it was too gone. 

After sitting in silence for what felt like an eternity, Sonia's muffled voice finally broke through to the boys. 

"Hey! You idiots lets get out of here!" 

Leon and Raihan looked at each other for a second and then they proceeded to jump up as they all ran far away from the wild area. 

As they approached the fork in the road that lead back to their homes, they all let out a huge sigh of relief. 

"That was too close. But did you guys see that Pokemon? I've never seen one like that before!"

Leon cried out and Raihan nodded excitedly. 

"I know! It was huge! It also saved us. Hey Sonia do you think your gran would know what it was?"

Sonia gave him a look and she shook her head "While my gran would certainly know what it was. I don't plan on telling her about this."

"Yeah, I get that. She's not even my nan but I'm terrified of her."

The all hummed in agreement and Sonia stretched her arms out.

"Anyways, supper is probably ready. I'll see you guys later?"

Leon and Raihan waved her off watching her head down the path to Wedgehurst. 

As the two boys began their walk home, they stayed silent. 

The sky had turned a light orange colour, pink clouds painted across and a cold evening breeze ran by. 

"I cant believe you were willing to dive in front and take a shadow ball for me."

Raihan's cheeks lit up as his pupils dilated. He tried to compose himself as he spoke very fast. 

"Well, uh yeah. It just happened so fast. It was as if I couldn't stop myself.. "

Once again, an awkward silence fell between the two as neither knew what to say. 

"...Well I appreciate it. A lot." 

Leon said that sentence very softly, his eyes darted in the other direction as a soft pink crept onto his face too. 

Raihan stared over at him, a weird feeling bubbling in his chest. He didn't know what it was, but it was new. 

"O-Oh well, if I knew you were going to be this sentimental Leon I would've done it long before this!" 

The purple haired boy let out a snort and playfully pushed him as he smiled brightly. They both laughed, as they came up to Leon's house. 

"You wanna come in for supper?"

"Nah, mum has it ready for me at home. Another time though."

Leon nodded as Raihan began to walk down the road to his home. Suddenly, a new thought popped into his head.

"Raihan!" 

The boy turned around, shouting back to Leon about what it was. 

"You and I are gonna be true rivals. When I start the gym challenge I hope you'll be around so I can crush you in battle during the tournament!"

Raihan blinked several times, trying to take in what Leon had said. A cocky smirk crept onto his face and he scoffed loudly. 

"Yeah?! I think you got it wrong friend. It'll be the other way around!" 

With that last remark, Raihan threw up a peace sign and then started to walk home. 

"Hah!" 

Leon smiled widely, for some reason he couldn't keep his eyes off the other boy until he was out of sight. 

An excited feeling in his chest burned intensely as he legged back into his house.

This was truly going to be the beginning of something intense. 


	2. Chapter 2

As Raihan hopped down the stairs, he held up his badges which shone brightly in the morning light. A new fire badge was the most recent addition.

"Well, look who's finally staring to catch up!" 

Raihan looked down to see a smug looking Leon with his hands in his pockets, charmeleon standing next to him. 

"Oh shut it you. It took you three times to beat this gym. This was my first go, so I personally still think I'm doing better."

Leon laughed mockingly as both boys got up close, he had a confident smile plastered across his face. 

"Sure, but when I'm two gyms ahead of you and only a few months left to the tournament? I'd say you'd better prepare to fight me next year as champion."

Raihen rolled his eyes, he teasingly shoved him as they both continued down the steps.

"You say that as if stand a chance of becoming champion." 

The two were talking back and forth when they heard a voice shout out to them. Sonia was waving with a big smile on her face and she ran up to them. 

"Raihen! That battle was incredible! I can't believe you beat his centiscorch while it gigantamaxxed!"

Raihan grinned proudly and crossed his arms. 

"Of course! If I'm going to be champion, something like that can't stand in my way!"

Sonia smiled as her little yamper danced around them, she looked up. 

"I'm struggling a lot with the gym challenges if I'm honest. Even with my yamper, Nessa is proving quite the formidable opponent." 

Raihen nodded as he put his arms behind his head. 

"Yeah. She's very hard to knock down. Especially her drednaw. But I believe you can do it."

Sonia gave him a weak smile but she still had a sad look to her. She stopped walking alongside them and the two others turned back to her. 

"You both are so strong. I can barely keep up. I'm wondering if I'll even make it to the tournament. I'm only on the 2nd gym leader and I've been trying to beat her for months." 

Both Leon and Raihan glanced at each other. Understanding the look they gave, Leon made his way over to Sonia and placing a hand on her shoulder

"Even if you don't manage to get it this year Sonia, doesn't mean there won't be other chances." 

The red head gave Leon a thankful look but she just couldn't take his words to heart. Her two best friends both had their rivalry, something that was pushing them forward. They try to include her in on the taunting, but it never feels like she truly is on the same level as them. Maybe her heart just wasn't as into this as she thought? As she was lost in thought, several girls ran up to Leon.

"Hi! We just wanted say that you were absolutely amazing in your last battle! Could we get a picture?" 

The purple haired boy smiled as he nodded and the girls squealed loudly taking out their phones. Raihan couldn't help but feel annoyed. Leon ever since he started the gym challenge has been very popular. He was the charismatic show off, that kind of personality was alluring to the public.

Not to mention his battles were incredible. But Raihan was starting to grow tired of Leon being followed a lot. He tried to brush it off for Leon's sake however. After that was done, with the girls on their merry way, the trio decided to go back to the hotel.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Raihan sat in the locker room, his knee bopping up and down as he felt his heart beating extremely fast. Nervousness was really starting to kick in. This was the first time he was this bad before a battle.

_ "Could Raihan and Leon please come to the pitch. Their battle is due to start in a few minutes." _

Came a booming voice from the intercom. It was the last round of the semi finals, Leon was the only one standing in his way of getting to the finals. 

He was ready. 

As they entered into the pitch, the screams and shouts of hundreds of people almost knocked Raihan back. It still was so surreal. It felt as if static was encasing his brain and the whole situation just felt like a foggy dream. 

But the moment he saw Leon already standing in the middle.of the pitch, it started to feel real. 

As the two face each other, Leon had a very serious smile on his face.

"You ready to pave the way to the new champion?"

"Yeah. You're looking at him." 

And with that, they turned. Walking to their respective side of the field. 

Raihan tossed his poke ball onto the field and the bright blue flash revealed his gigalith, who let out a mighty roar as a sandstorm whipped around them. 

"Oh yeah! You were always a fan of weather effects huh!" 

Leon taunted as he released his first Pokemon which was aegislash. 

"Yeah! Get ready Leon. I'm about to blow your team away!" 

  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------  
  


As the battle was nearing to a close, Raihan's 2nd last Pokemon went down. Leon's charizard was no joke. He had totally forgotten that thing could learn solar beam which spelled big trouble for his mainly ground type team. He took out his duskball, staring at it intensely, before taking a glance right over at Leon. 

"It's the final stretch now old friend! Be ready to meet your new champion!" 

Raihan smiled to himself, he could feel his entire body on fire with excitement. He wanted so badly to beat Leon, he wasn't going to back down just yet. Not while there was still a chance! Raihan tossed his last pokeball and Flygon was revealed. It let out a huge roar, which instantly got the crowd cheering and going crazy. 

"Oh! What a cool pokemon! Too bad it doesn't stand a chance!" 

Leon pointed forward and his charizard lunged ahead, its mouth lit up with fire. Within seconds it was behind the flygon which caught the big green monster off guard and a huge explosion went off causing a huge dust cloud to hide the two from sight. Raihan yelled out to flygon with every fibre of his being.

Finally, the dust seemed to settle. Flygon was revealed to managed to bite charizard's tail, the other pokemon frantically trying to free itself from its grip.

"Alright flygon! Send him soaring!" 

With huge effort, flygon dragged charizard up into the air and then slam dunked it hard onto the pitch. A massive **THUMP** echoed throughout the stadium. Charizard weakly stood up, glanced back at Leon who nodded understandably. He raised his pokeball and called the dragon back. 

"I thought you had no more pokemon?" 

Leon flashed a devilish smile, as he clutched the pokeball tightly. 

"I don't!"

The atmosphere in the stadium was reaching maximum hype levels, singing from the crowd followed by themed stomping of feet and claps. Raihan felt his heart drop when dynamax energy surged around Leon as the pokeball grew to a new size and he winked as he tossed behind him. 

Charizard grew to an immense size, but that wasn't the only thing that changed. It's face was glowing bright with flames and the wings had turned to fire. It was _huge._

Leon had gigantamaxxed his Pokémon. 

"I didn't know charizard could?!"

Leon scoffed loudly as he wagged his finger at him. The air on the pitch fell heavy with humidity as the heat rose to immense levels.

"I told from the beginning that my charmander was special! And this is where this battle ends! Charizard, max overgrowth!" 

And with the release of said move, there was a huge explosion, Raihan's ears were ringing and he felt like he would pass out. In front, his flygon fell from the sky and landed on the ground. The commentator said those terrible words. 

"And flygon is unable to battle! The winner is Leon!"


	3. Chapter 3

The stadium erupted into roars like never before. Raihan stared ahead, his body numb and barely responding to the world around him. He saw Leon's mouth moving as he talked to him, but he couldn't pick up on a word he was saying. He nodded, thanked him for the match and left the pitch. 

After arriving back at the hotel room, healed up and alone, Raihan took out his team. 

"You guys were amazing. I'm sorry I wasn't a better trainer that could've led us to victory…After we trained so hard.." 

His pokemon all gave him a worried look, his gigalith hobbling over to him and letting out a caring noise as it attempted to nuzzle him. The rest of his team all surrounded him and Raihan couldn't help but feel tears prick the corners of his eyes and let out a soft sob.

After about five minutes, there was a knock at the door and Raihan quickly composed himself.

He returned his team to their pokeball and called out for whoever it was to come in. Leon and Sonia entered into the room, in their hands what appeared to be a greasy bag of takeaway from their favourite restaurant. 

"Hey. We got your usual?" 

Raihan stared over at them, in particular Leon. He didn't say anything for a moment before he gave a small chuckle.

"Thanks lads. Let's eat."

  
  


"I still cant believe you never told us about how charizard can gigantamax Leon! Seeing that was bloody insane."

Leon shrugged as he bit into his pizza and leaned back. 

"I wanted to keep it a secret for my most important match!"

Raihan stopped for a moment, staring over at his purple haired friend in complete shock. 

"What? Then why our match and not yours against the champion tomorrow?" 

Leon awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he laughed to himself. Without realising it, his face became very gentle. "Because while yeah the champion is important. You ARE my rival. I wanted it to be you who experienced that level of intense battling first."

Sonia snorted as she put her drink down and crossed her arms. 

"Oh! So that's just your way of showing affection huh?" 

Leon almost choked on his food as a bright red colour spread onto his face. 

"N-No! I wanted to crush Raihan!"

"Oh no mate! Your true colours are showing, we see right through you!" Raihan teased loudly ruffling the other guys hair causing Sonia to burst into laughter while Leon still was trying to defend himself only to grow more and more flustered.

Suddenly, there was a buzzing from Leon's pocket and he took out his phone. As he answered it, there was muffled talk on the other side and Leon was giving short quick answers. 

In the end, he rolled his eyes while still being polite to the person and hung up.

"I've gotta go. My sponsors want me to go do some pr stunt stuff like sign autographs and all that.." 

Raihan felt his heart sink, as he had barely any time with him outside of battles lately. He was becoming so busy. 

As he was leaving, Raihan called out for him one last time.

"Leon, do you think you are going to win tomorrow?"

The other boy thought about it for a minute or two, before that familiar confident smile once more was plastered on his face. 

"Oh, definitely."

Although Raihan was afraid he was going to say that, he pushed past that for Leon's sake.

"Good. I'm looking forward to taking that championship from you next year." 


	4. Chapter 4

Raihan stood impatiently in the lobby of the hotel, constantly checking his phone and grumbling annoyed to himself. 

An out of breath Sonia ran up to him, trying to gulp down the air that her lungs desperately craved. 

"I'm so sorry I'm late! The train got delayed!" 

Raihan sighed loudly as he looked away, his face for a brief moment looked sad. 

"You're totally fine. At least you showed up." 

Sonia looked at him, her heart heavy at the sight of her best friend so down. She placed her hand on his shoulder. He glanced up and she gave him a smile. 

"He could still show up y'know? You know how he can be at time-"

Raihan's phone buzzed loudly with a text, the boy pulled it out and unlocked it. After several moments of silence, Raihan's eye twitched and he let out a disgruntled noise. 

"That was Leon. He's being held up with chairman Rose. What a shocker. Ever since he became champion over a year ago, we've barely ever seen him."

Sonia raised an eyebrow at him, she had never seen Raihan this upset before. And over Leon? 

"You know he doesn't mean to. I mean, even his family says he barely comes home. He's just a busy guy. Let's go takeaway ourselves." 

"Yeah. But he ain't busy for his fangirls ain't he?" 

That last comment was dripping with venom, Sonia was shocked to hear Raihan say something so coldly. Before she could say something back, Raihan had already made his way to the elevator. She groaned loudly as she followed him. 

As they sat and ate their food, Sonia noticed how distant Raihan seemingly was. He had been chewing on the same pizza crust for over a minute now. He looked really down. 

‘’You know, we can talk about this right?’’

This shook Raihan out of his daydream, he gave her a strange look and curled back defensively. ‘’What? There’s nothing to talk about..’’

Sonia gave him a look and rolled her eyes as she placed her food down on her plate and leaned back. She knew him, she had been friends with him since they were kids. He normally never got this hung up on this sorta thing. But he did have a tendency to bottle his feelings up.

‘’Of course there is. You’re upset because of how busy Leon has been lately.’’ 

Raihan’s whole face dropped, he looked away but she could see his fists clench. He was very visibly upset. 

‘’You know it’s okay to feel that way. But you shouldn’t take it so hard on Leon. He isn’t doing this on purpose y’know.’’ 

‘’I know. But it’s been so different between us. Our friendship feels...wrong.’’

Sonia gave him a sympathetic look, this really was extremely hard for him huh? 

‘’You know what you need to do? You need to occupy yourself. I’ve heard rumours floating around that the gym leader in Hammerlocke is retiring. And, since its traditionally a dragon type gym, I feel like the job would be suited to a certain fella with a knack for the type.’’ 

Raihan glanced up, his mind pondered on the idea. That was quite the suggestion, but he wasn’t not considering it. He just never really saw himself to become a gym leader. 

‘’I think you should audition. It would help build your confidence.’’ 

  
  


‘’Yeah, maybe you are right. I'll do that."

Sonia smiled, there was that Raihan she knew. He began to chow down on his food and then the conversation shifted back to more normal teen topics. 

But Sonia did know, this wasn’t the end of this conflict Raihan was hiding deep down.


	5. Chapter 5

Raihan hopped off the train, landing in Hammerlocke station. He checked his phone, to see he was on time. Perfect. 

As he strolled through the city with many different children were running around waving banners and an exciting atmosphere could be felt. 

He was wondering if there was some sort of festival was on before he heard cheers from a crowd in front of him. A familiar face could be seen in the middle and Raihan’s whole body became heavy. He watched as Leon smiled brightly, taking pictures and talking with fans. He noticed how he had a bit of facial hair grow on his chin and his arms surprisingly were a lot beefier. He couldn’t help but stare before he saw yellow eyes look in his direction. 

‘’Raihan!’’ 

The purple haired champion jogged over to him and smiled warmly. Raihan nodded at him but did not return his excited energy. 

‘’Hey, I’m so sorry about the other night. Maybe we can have dinner tonight?’’ 

For a second, Raihan’s fluttered. He was about to accept before an uncomfortable feeling snuck his way into his head. 

‘’Uh, no. Man, you’ve cancelled on me like five times in the last two weeks. Why should I expect you to keep your end of the bargain?’’ 

Leon looked taken aback, he genuinely was shocked by what Raihan had said. He tried to awkwardly laugh to lift the tension but it didn’t do much. 

‘’I’m sorry? But it’s been so hectic lately. Chairman Rose has been calling me in for so many PR meetings. On top of that, I’ve been training extra hard as the tournament is at the end of the month.’’ 

Raihan scowled slightly, he was growing sick of his excuses. ‘’But you’ve got all the time for your fans yeah?’’

Leon’s face fell, he was so surprised and hurt by what Raihan was suggesting. 

‘’Rai, please. Just because I’m not around as often that doesn’t mean you aren’t important to me?’’ 

Raihan grumbled to himself as his phone buzzed. ‘’Listen, I’ve got somewhere to be.’’ 

As he started to walk away, Leon grabbed his arm. His eyes looked glossy, he held tightly onto his friend. 

‘’Raihan?’’ 

The older boy looked away, pulling from his grip. He could feel Leon’s eyes digging into him. 

‘’I’m sorry. I guess we’ve just been falling apart. Maybe it's just for the best. Bye Leon.'' 

And with that, he walked away leaving a very distraught looking Leon behind. Journalists began to crowd him. Bombarding him with questions about what had just happened. Leon’s brain couldn’t process anything, his pupils darting back and forth. He excused himself from the crowd and left the area very quickly. He took out his phone and dialed.

  
  


‘’Sonia? Could you come over?’’ 

\-------------------------------------------------------

Raihan approached the massive stone building, it was one of the largest stadiums in Galar, the one in Wyndon beating it but not by much. He thought back to his interaction with Leon. His mind was trickling with sadness and anger. Kind of at Leon, kind of at himself. He was confused, but he decided to put all that in the back of his head. At least, for now.

He pushed the big wooden door, which unsurprisingly very heavy. He had been here once before and that was when he challenged the gym leader over a year ago. He was greeted by one of the league staff.

‘’Raihan! You back to have a rematch? You know your battle with Steven was one of our most watched matches.’’

Raihan smiled, that made him feel good. But he shook his head. 

‘’No. I was told of a rumour that he was retiring. I came here to audition.’’

‘’Follow me then.’’ 

**\---------------------------------------------------**

Sonia knocked on the door, to hear a very somber sounding Leon telling her to come in. She pushed open the door, to see Leon sitting on the bed, shoulders slumped. She frowned as she walked over and sat next to him. 

‘’What’s wrong Lee?’’’

‘’It’s Raihan. I saw him in the city and tried to talk. But he...he seemed so different.’’ 

Sonia placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding at him to continue. Leon’s voice cracked, he sounded extremely hurt. As if he was trying not to cry. 

‘’He told me, that we were just growing apart. And then he left? He said he had somewhere to be.’’

Sonia growled to herself and slammed her fist on her thigh. ‘’Oh that dickhead. I’m going to have quite the talk with him next time I see him.’’

She was about to rant more, but stopped when she saw how small Leon looked. He didn’t respond, he just had his head hanging low. He really was at his lowest? Raihan was able to do this to him?

‘’Oh. I’m sorry. Listen, as much as I want to be mad at Raihan. He’s going through some things. I’m guessing it’s just hard for him to cope with all this change. I’m sure what he said, he didn’t truly mean it. But, that doesn’t change the fact that the way he is handling it is not fair on you whatsoever.’’ 

Leon gave her a soft glance, he was trying to smile but he just couldn;t bring himself to. He hoped she was right, that this was just something that would blow over. But the tone that Raihan had spoken to him? It was harsh, it cut right through his heart. 

‘’Listen. I think for now, you should try to distract yourself from this. You do have the tournament starting soon. I’ll have a chat with Raihan and I can get to the root of this whole issue.’’ 

Leon nodded slowly, he inhaled deeply and sat up. His eyes were puffy, clearly he had been crying a lot before she arrived. But she wasn’t going to comment on that, she could read the room. She pulled him in for a hug, he gave her a tight squeeze and he looked like he was at least cheered up. For now anyways. 

‘’So, dinner?’’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we don't know who was the gym leader before Raihan. I just chose a random name.
> 
> Also I am aware Raihan is more a ground/dragon type user but he is known as someone who is a tamer of dragons.


	6. Chapter 6

Raihan was busy packing up his suitcase, when he heard the door open and slam. He jumped as he turned to see Sonia standing at the door. 

‘’Oh, it’s you. How did you know this was my room?’’

‘’I asked at reception. Plus I totally accidentally walked in on a random person because I got the numbers muddled up. But that’s not important right now.’’ 

She ordered him to sit down on the bed beside her and he raised an eyebrow but complied. She looked angry, like he had never seen her this furious looking ever since he and Leon lost one of her rare league cards when they were small. 

‘’So, care to explain what happened with Leon? The way you were so cold to him.’’ 

‘’He TOLD you?’’

Sonia gave him a scowl, she totally didn’t care at this point. 

‘’Yeah and so what? He called me to his hotel room because he was distraught over how it went down between you two. Why did you just decide to cut ties essentially and not talk things out first. Why did you think that was fair?!’’ 

Raihan groaned to himself as he buried his face in his hands. ‘’I just figured it was pointless. I was so mad. I….’’

Sonia sighed loudly as she crossed her arms and took a deep breath. 

‘’Okay. Why are you mad?’’ 

Raihan was confused by her question, she knew? Like he had spelled it out for her dozens of times. He was mad because Leon hardly had time for them. What else could there be?

‘’You know why. I’ve said it many times.’’

‘’Yeah, but like there has to be more to it than that. If it was something as simple as not seeing Leon, you would have accepted his offer to get food. But you said no. What was your reasoning there?’’ 

Raihan thought for a moment. His reasoning? The amount of times he had been cancelled on. When it started, it wasn’t that bad. But when it became a common occurrence? It hurt. It was hard not seeing Leon as often as he used to. They’ve been inseparable since they were kids after all. 

At least, until now.

‘’I guess. It was my way of trying not to get hurt by him again. I was afraid I would get all excited at the idea of being alone with him , not surrounded by those fangirls he always has attached to his hip.."

Sonia paused, she took in what he had just confessed to her. He was getting annoyed over girls being all over him? He wanted alone time? 

‘’It bothers you that girls love him?’’ 

‘’Yeah! Because they all just constantly drool over him. I get why, but like I know it’s only because he’s famous.’’ 

‘’You know that’s a very poor way to think about young girls who are just admiring someone they look up to? I don’t think you have a problem with the girls themselves, you’re jealous of the attention he’s giving them.’’ 

Raihan’s whole body tensed up. What did she mean by that?

‘’Sonia, can I ask where you are going with this.’’ 

The redhead faced him, a serious look on her face. This was a look she always gave when she was about to drop a bombshell on you. 

‘’You aren’t just mad at Leon for not being around as often. Same reason you aren’t just mad that girls love him. I think, the real issue at hand here is your denial over the big picture here Raihan. You like Leon.’’ 

‘’Of course I like Leon, this wouldn’t be happening if I hate him would it?’’

Sonia groaned loudly, why did she have such an oblivious idiot for a best friend?

‘’No! You completely misunderstood what I meant. You LIKE like him.’’ 

Raihan felt as if the whole world had come crashing down on him. What Sonia had just said was crazy. Right? 

‘’What? T-That’s not true! I-I don’t like him that way! He’s my best mate!’’

‘’Best mates can fall in love Rai. I think you’re just in denial.’’ 

Raihan looked away. She was wrong. He didn’t like Leon romantically. He didn’t. He couldn’t, 

‘’Listen, I’m going to leave you with your thoughts on that new recent revelation. I have to go back to Wedgehurst. Gran needs me back.’’ 

‘’What? Is everything okay at home?’’

Sonia tilted her head for a moment but she shook it. 

‘’Oh, no. Just as of recently I’ve been thinking. I’m not sure if I'm ...trainer material. I couldn’t even make it to the semi finals! Besides, I feel like I like helping people and Pokemon more. So, gran is taking me in as her assistant to train to become a professor one day.’’ 

Raihan’s eyes widened, he was surprised but not shocked. He totally could see her doing that for a living. 

‘’Oh! That’s fantastic!’’ 

She smiled at him for the first time she arrived. She twirled her hair nervously and spoke more. 

‘’Thank you...It’s a very daunting task. But I am really up for it. Speaking of our futures, was the reason why you came here to audition for the gym leader?’’

‘’Oh! Y-Yeah. Steven told me during our battle last year, I showed great promise as a gym leader. He told me he saw me as a worthy successor but I’m still kinda on a trial run. I’m making my debut at the opening ceremony in a week.’’

Sonia gasped loudly, she was shocked! She knew Raihan was a talented trainer who had a special connection with dragon types, but she didn’t expect him to rise this quickly. But, if he was going to be debuting at the opening ceremony. 

‘’You know you’re going to see him there right?’’ 

Raihan looked away, his head lowered and he tightened his fists. ‘’I know. I-I’ll...at least make things better around then. What I did to Leon wasn’t fair, I need to let him know that so I can apologise.’’ 

Sonia smiled at him, she was proud of Raihan. And low key, she was proud she was able to talk some sense into him. 

‘’Good. I'm glad to hear that. But, also think about what I said earlier. I have a feeling you have some other things to realize for yourself.’’

With that last comment, Sonia expressed her goodbyes and left Raihan to his own devices. 

He stared at himself in the mirror, he thought about what Sonia has told him.

_ ‘’You LIKE like him. ‘’ _

Raihan shook his head. He didn’t. Sure, Leon was a great friend? But that doesn’t mean anything else right? Like, sure he was handsome. He always smelled really good. He had a beautiful smile....

Raihan’s eyes shot open, he fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. 

‘’Crap."


	7. Chapter 7

Leon entered the locker room, he saw the other gym leaders socializing and preparing themselves for the ceremony. It still ...felt so surreal. He was champion. He was the strongest trainer in this room? With how bad life has been lately, this kinda thing did make him feel good. At least, for now. 

He hadn;t heard anything from Raihan since that day. Sonia assured him, that he just had things to think about but he wasn’t mad at him. He eventually was going to talk to him. He often wondered what had Sonia and him talked about, that had him so reclusive. I guess in time he would find out. 

‘’Leon! First debut as champion. How ya feelin’?’’ 

Milo walked up to him, giving him a big pat on the back that actually almost toppled him. Leon blushed lightly as he looked over at him.

_ Farmwork really had this man built like a tauros huh? _

  
  


‘’O-Oh yeah! It’s very exciting.’’ 

Nessa wandered over, crossing her arms while looking him up and down. 

‘’You think you going to be able to hold onto your title for another year Leon?’’

The purple haired boy looked at her for a minute before he flashed her a confident grin. ‘’Oh. Absolutely!’’ 

Nessa laughed, rolling her eyes playfully and nodded. 

‘’Okay big guy. I look forward to the finals in a few months.’’ 

Leon nodded in agreement, as the intercom above them boomed to life. 

‘’Can the champion and all gym leaders please make their way to the pitch?’’

They all looked around, confused, ‘’Hey, Piers isn’t here yet. Nor is the supposed new dragon type gym leader.’’ Milo said as he looked around to see if he was right. 

‘’Piers not coming is nothing new, but I am wondering where the new gym leader should be?’’

Suddenly, there were footsteps coming from the entryway, Leon turned and he let out an audible gasp without thinking. Raihan stood there awkwardly as the whole room stared at him. Raihan made eye contact with Leon for a brief moment before they darted away. 

‘’So, you’re also making your debut today aren’t cha?’’ Melony said with a small bit of judgement in her tone. Raihan bit his lip and nodded nervously. 

Opal tutted and slowly walked over to the young gym leader. ‘’You know, I was holding gym auditions too?’’

The whole room filled with heavy layer of tension before the intercom once more sprang to life, demanding that everyone made their way to the pitch. As trainers started to walk out, Raihan and Leon looked at each other. 

‘’We uh better get out there huh?’’ 

Leon stared over at him, his expression hard to make out. Raihan expected him to be angry at him, but Leon just sighed and signalled him to follow them out. ‘’C’mon then. Just letting you know, I’ll be the one turning heads when it comes to debuts.’’ 

His tone was teasing, the way they would normally act albeit a little rusty. Raihan rolled his eyes as he followed suit. He was grateful Leon had at least lifted some of the tension, but he knew they still had to talk after this was all over and done with.

  
  
  


After the ceremony, the gym leaders were back in their casual clothes and begininng to get ready to leave. Leon was putting away his newly made uniform when he heard someone call his name very timidly from behind. 

Leon turned to see Raihan, who’s eyes were facing the floor. There was an awkward silence that fell between the two. The rest of the gym leaders noticed this, glancing slightly at them. All curious to see how this will go down. 

‘’So uh. I was wondering if you wanted to um. Join me for dinner later? I-I promise I can this time! I’ve got nothing planned. If you want to come back to the hotel around 5?’’ 

There a small laugh coming from Nessa in the back who was quickly shushed by Melony. Raihan looked at him. He smiled gently. 

‘’Y-Yeah it’s okay I believe you. I’d love to.’’ 

Leon nodded with a small smile on his face too.

  
\--------------------------------------------------

As Leon hung up on the phone with the takeaway, he stared over at the shopping bag. He was absolutely nervous for Raihan to come over. 

Finally, a knock at the door and Leon rushed over to open it. Raihan was standing there. In his left hand was a bag. 

‘’You get something for yourself?’’

‘’Uh yeah..’’

‘’I also ordered your usual from Bob’s Your Uncle. I-I hope that’s okay! I’ll pay for it too.’’ 

Leon was very clearly eager to make things good again and Raihan smiled at him weakly. He didn’t have to do that.

‘’Listen, I know you wanna make things up to me. But you don’t need to. You didn’t do anything wrong...I-I wasn’t a good friend.’’ 

Leon looked at him, seeing how scared Raihan looked. He was nervously playing with his hands as he spoke. Leon calmed down, allowing him to keep talking. 

‘’All this is so new, so different. I would be lying if I didn’t say it was very overwhelming. I...I missed you. Sonia really talked some sense into me.’’ 

‘’Yeah, she’s good like that huh? She said you had some reality checks. But she wouldn’t go into details of what exactly. C-Can I know or?’’

Raihan began to panic, his cheeks going pink and he shook his head. ‘’I-I don’t know if I want to talk about that yet. It’s nothing bad, just something I’m still struggling with. I’m sure you’ll know one day though.’’ 

Leon laughed while he nodded understandingly. 

‘’I get it. I won’t ask no more. But. I’m really glad we’re talking again. I hope you know with you becoming a gym leader and me being the champion, we aren’t going to see each other very often. I hope you understand, I never wanted to cancel on you but…’’ 

Raihan placed a reassuring hand on the other boys shoulder and nodded. ‘’I get that. But, let’s try to meet up every now and then to catch up. Maybe try once a month? Sonia too.’’ 

Leon beamed brightly as he nodded excitedly. 

‘’Yeah! That sounds good.’’

Raihan took out his phone, anxiously looking over at Leon. ‘’H-Hey shall we send Sonia a snapchat showing we made up?’’ 

Leon very happily jumped beside Raihan. He was ecstatic to to take one. Raihan rolled his eyes playfully, he missed Leon’s goofy presence. 

As his rotom phone flew above them, prepping to take their picture, an idea snuck into Raihan’s head. 

‘’I have a funny thing to do for this selfie. ‘’ 

Before Leon could ask what he meant, Raihan gave him a quick peck on the cheek which got a very blushy reaction from the other boy and the rotom phone flash went off. As his phone landed back in his hands, Leon could still feel the heat on his cheek from the kiss. He stared over at Raihan. 

‘’W-What was that for?’’

Raihan chuckled as he typed up a caption for the snap and shrugged. ‘’Just thought it would be an interesting picture. Plus, I kinda like seeing how flustered you get. It makes for a good pic.’’ 

Raihan gave him a cheeky smile as he got up. Leon was just short circuiting. As he tried to take in what just happened, he turned around to ask something.

‘’...C-Could you send me that too?’’ 

‘’Hah! Sure thing. Now brb I’ve got to go into the bathroom.’’ 

As he heard the door clicked shut, there was a buzz from his phone on the table. Leon picked it up and swiped open his phone. As he opened the snap, he stared at for ages. He looked around to see if Raihan was watching. He then screenshotting the picture to keep it. As he lay back on the bed, a voice from the bathroom cried out. 

‘’So, you screenshotting that pic huh?’’ 

Leon’s cheeks went beet red as he hid his face shouting back to tell Raihan to shut up. 

He had totally forgotten that you get notifications for screenshots. 


	8. Chapter 8

As they put down their finished food, Leon glanced towards the bag that he had hidden away, He looked over at Raihan who was scrolling on his phone. Taking in a deep breath, Leon got up and picked up the shopping bag. He walked over and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. 

‘’L-Listen. Since you are now officially the new dragon type gym leader. I think you needed to look the part…’’ 

Reaching in, Leon revealed a hoodie. It was detailed and resembled a dragon's body. Raihan’s eyes widened as he stared at it. As he took it, Leon was waiting to see how he reacted. ‘’Y-You don’t have to wear it if you don’t like it..’’ 

Raihan scoffed as he ran up, giving the champion a big hug which surprised Leon. As they pulled apart, Raihan was admiring everything about the hoodie. 

‘’I love it. It’s so me. And actually, I got you something too.’’ 

As Raihan got his own bag, he pulled out what appeared to a red cape with a gold fluffy hem. 

‘’I-I wasn’t sure what colour you liked. And I was praying it would go with your hair. I-I…’’ 

‘’What! You kidding? This is amazing!’’ 

As they both took their respective clothing items. 

As they tried them on, Leon was staring at himself in the mirror. ‘’Wow! I truly feel like a champion right now. I’m telling ya, my look is coming together!’’ 

Raihan laughed as he pulled the hoodie over and glancing over to the mirror too. It was so warm, it fit him perfectly. He truly was starting to feel like a gym leader. 

‘’Wow. Now, you see! We are starting to see elements of your type mastery. You always gave me a dragon vibe though.’’ 

‘’Yeah. I think it’s my teeth. I remember I used to be so embarrassed about them as a kid.’’ 

Leon looked over, he noticed how when Raihan became aware of his fangs, he would often try to hide them. He hated seeing him get self conscious like that. 

‘’I’ve always loved your fangs. And in all honesty? They are pretty attractive.’’ 

That last part of sentence slipped out before Leon could stop himself and he froze up. Raihan raised an eyebrow. ‘’They are very what? I didn’t catch that last part. ‘’ 

‘’U-Um I just think they make you look pretty cool. That’s all!’’ 

Raihan smiled at him softly, a small pink blush forming on his cheeks but he quickly turned away as to hide it from Leon. ‘’T-Thank you. I appreciate it.’’ 

‘’Yeah! Yeah no problem…"

\-------------------------------------------------------‐----------------

"Ah bollocks."

Raihan looked over to see Leon angrily grumbling to himself as he turned his phone off.

"What's got you in a tiff?" 

Leon fell back on the couch next to Raihan as he sighed loudly and scratching his chin. 

"My manager forgot to book me a room. And since today was the opening ceremony, everywhere is full. Guess I'll be getting the train to stay in another city I guess.." 

Raihan raised an eyebrow, an idea snuck into his head and he gulped nervously before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Y-You could always stay here y'know? I know this room only has one bed but-but it's a double! Or if you want I can sleep on the couch?"

Leon glanced over at Raihan, he snorted and patted him on the back gently.

"What? No, I'll just share the bed with you. It's no big deal! Thanks mate, this means a lot."

"Y-Yeah. No big deal. Definitely. I'll uh get you a spare pair of pyjamas!"

Raihan was stumbling over his words as he jumped up and walked over to his suitcase which he proceeded to rummage through.

Leon noticed that was odd, he had never seen Raihan so nervous? And, he had never seen him so affectionate. With the snap earlier being something so strange. 

  
  


Still, he didn't question it too much. He figured if something was truly up, he would find it out in the end.

  
  



	9. Chapter 9

Leon stared up at the ceiling, a snoring Raihan slumbering right next to him. His eyes glanced up, the other man looked so peaceful. Leon didn't realise how much he found himself staring until he felt his phone vibrate which knocked him out of this trance. 

He pulled up phone to see a text from Sonia. It was 3am. He quietly pulled himself from the cozy warm bed and snuck into another part of the hotel room so he wouldnt be heard. He then proceeded to dial Sonia's number

  
  


Back in Wedgehurst, Sonia was sitting at a desk with dozens of books and notes scattered around her. She then heard ringing and she picked up her phone..

"Well, someones up late!" 

  
  


Leon chuckled to himself as he leaned against the wall, trying to speak loud enough for Sonia to hear but quiet enough as to not wake Raihan. 

"I could say the same for you. What's up."

Sonia groaned loudly as she leaned back in her chair, removing her reading glasses. 

"So. Much. Research. Gran wasnt kidding when she said this work was heavy. But enough about me, what's got you up this late?"

Leon paused for a moment, glancing back to the bedroom to see a sleeping Raihan who had barely moved and was still snoring away. 

"Oh uh just couldn't sleep. I'm still at Raihan's hotel room. Everywhere was booked so I'm bunking with him for the night."

Sonia raised an eyebrow, a smile creeping onto her face as she sat forward. Oh, now that was interesting. 

"Oh? That's good. Seems like you guys are back on good terms. If that snapchat earlier wasn't any indicator." 

Leon's face flushed red and he nervously chuckled as he remembered that Raihan had sent that to her too. 

"O-Oh yeah. He did that out of the blue. Said it would make for an interesting pic." 

Sonia could sense Leon's flustered face from here, she could tell this was not just a random joke Raihan decided to pull.

Raihan while she was someone she made fun of for being so bad at coming to terms with his feelings, when he was sure. He was sure. And very forward. 

He was totally flirting with Leon. And the poor boy he was crushing on was starting to question his own feelings now too. 

"Oh yeah totally. How did that make you feel?" 

Leon froze for a moment, that was not the question he was expecting her to ask. 

"Uh? I don't know?"

Sonia rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. These two were so oblivious, getting them to admit their feelings was like pulling teeth. 

"I think you do. Raihan has been very affectionate to you hasn't he? And I have a feeling, you secretly are loving it." 

Leon's heart skipped a beat. He had an inkling he knew where this conversation is going but he wanted to be sure.

"Sonia, what do you mean by that."

"You like him. As in, LIKE like him."

Sonia made sure to make that distinction this time, she knew Leon would also misunderstood what she meant.

"I...What?!"

Sonia laughed loudly as she knew her work here was done..

"Alright. I'll leave that thought to resonate with you for a bit. I have to keep working. Have a nice night Lee!" 

And with that, she hung up. Leon stood in the dark bathroom, trying to take in what he was told. He gulped loudly, thinking she was crazy. She was only messing with him. 

Right?

As he walked back over to the bed and got in, the person beside him shifted. He was met by the t groggy blue eyes of Raihan. 

"Y-You s'okay?"

Leon blushed slightly, his sleepy voice sent shivers down his spine. He was thankful it was too dark to see his face. 

"Oh yeah! Just had to go to the bathroom. That's all." 

Raihan yawned loudly and nodded.

"O-Okay handsome. You do you."

Leon's eyes widened when he heard that but as quickly as Raihan had woken up, he was back in a deep sleep and snoring loudly. 

Leon lay there, his heart beating so fast and loud in his ears. 

_ Sonia was right. _


	10. Chapter 10

As a gentle sunbeam crept it's way past the blinds into the room, Raihan's eyes fluttered open. He glanced around, looking to the spot on the bed beside him

It was empty though. 

Raihan sighed out loud, he figured that Leon had to leave early. But he would have at least appreciated if he had woken him up to say goodbye. 

As Raihan sleepily wandered out of the bedroom, he stopped in his tracks. 

Leon was walking out of the bathroom, he was wearing jeans of course, but he was completely lacking a shirt. Hair was freshly washed and dry. But what Raihan couldn't help but do was admire Leon's physique.

Clearly his training was doing him very well. Very very well.

_ How could he have been kidding himself for so long. _

As Raihan thought to himself, Leon finally looked over. Raihan's face turned a dark red as he began to explain himself profusely. 

Leon stared at him blankly before flashing Raihan a big grin. "I figured I would have a shower before I left. I didn't want to wake you!" 

Raihan raised an eyebrow, he really did expect Leon to have left without telling him. This was a pleasant surprise.

"I'm gonna go finish up. I've got breakfast on the table if you wanna tuck in."

Raihan paused for a moment, he had to backtrack what was just said to him

"If I want to what?"

"..Tuck in?"

"O-Oh. Yeah. That's what you said." 

Leon shrugged as he went back into the bathroom. 

Raihan sat at the table, his face flushed.

He really had it bad huh?

\-----------------------------------------------------------

As Raihan walked Leon to the train station, he noticed how anxious he was. 

"I hope this isn't too much trouble. I can walk the rest of the way if you want?"

Raihan laughed out loud "You are TERRIBLE with directions Leon. Besides, it's no problem. Don't worry." and Leon smiled to himself as he nodded in appreciation.

As the two walked in silence for a moment, a question popped into Leon's head.

"Hey can I ask you something?"

Raihan looked at him carefully before nodding. 

"Have you chosen a pokemon you want to dynamax yet?"

_ Damn, he had forgotten about that. _

"Uh, no. Simply because, I don't have a wishing star." 

Leon's eyes widened, he looked shocked. 

"What! Did they not give you one when you became gym leader?"

"No. I was told I had to find it my own way. One of my many tests to help me become a better gym leader. Apparently."

Raihan did admit though, he did feel embarrassed that he was one of the very few gym leaders who didn't dynamax. He knew Piers didn't, but that was out of choice. Which he respected. 

But Raihan himself? He really wanted to. Like, he currently owned one of the biggest stadiums in Galar. And he wasn't putting it to use the way it's intended. 

"W-Where did you get yours Leon?" 

The other boy paused, he took took moment to try remember where he found it.

"Oh! I got it in the wild area. The first day I left."

_ Of course he did. He's a lucky bastard. A handsome lucky bastard. _

"Oh. Uh, I was wondering if you.."

"Would go with you to find one?" 

Raihan gave him a look before he laughed out loud, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him in.

"Hah! Yeah, I mean whenever the great champion has time for me though!"

Leon snorted as he broke from his grip and attempted to fix his ruffled hair.

"Ah, you look fine. The bedhead look is kinda good on you if I must say so myself." 

Leon stopped in his tracks, staring over at the boy. Raihan gave him a wink as he continued to walk ahead.

_ Was...Was he flirting with me? Flirt back Leon. You can do it. _

"W-Well! I think it does too!"

_ You nailed it. _

Leon stared at him, absolutely dumbfounded. He was so nervous, Leon normally would have come up with a good quip so they could banter back and forth. But he was fumbling and cheeks glowing.

And honestly? Seeing Leon this timid yet so endearing was causing Leon's heart to flutter and melt. 

Raihan let out a small laugh as he patted his shoulder. He wanted Leon to know he appreciated the effort. It seemed like it got through to him as he looked away with a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth. 

"Alright, anyways. Whenever you aren't busy, maybe you could give me a hand with finding the star?"

Leon smiled at him "Yeah of course." and as the approaching the entrance of the train station, deep down both knew it was time to say goodbye for now. 

"I'll see you soon. I promise." 

Although Raihan's brain was used to taking Leon's promises in stride, even now it was difficult to believe the boy was being genuine. But, he wanted this to work. 

He was choosing to wear his heart on his sleeve again.

Raihan pulled Leon in for a hug, he held him tightly and the other boy let out a short yelp as it was so sudden. But after the initial shock wore off, Leon melted into the hug and butterfree burst to life in his stomach. 

As they pulled apart, a shy smile crept onto Raihan's face and he said a curt goodbye. He started to walk in the other direction.

"Raihan? I'll video call you tonight."

The gym leader's eyes sparked with excitement, he chuckled softly. 

"Missing me already huh?"

Leon smiled sheepishly as he turned around. 

"You wish!"


	11. Chapter 11

"So, you really found it around here huh?" 

As they entered Giant's Mirror, Leon nodded. "Yeah, I was walking right by the pond and I hear this SHING! noise. And then it landed right in front of me!" 

He pointed to a patch of grass, that had a very brown and unusual look to it. Raihan walked over, he glanced around. There seemed to be no other similar patches. 

Raihan sighed loudly as he stood back up and shook his head. It seemed like the star Leon had found was the only one in this area at least.

"I'm sorry man. Maybe we can check somewhere else?" 

Raihan gave him a gentle smile as he shook his head. 

"Nah. This place is so massive. I'll find one another way. Let's head back to Hammerlocke." 

As they started to leave, there was a strange pokemon cry that came from behind them. 

Raihan froze, he turned slowly. It...It looked like the pokemon they saw that one day? 

"Hey. Doesn't that pokemon look familiar?" 

It stared the two of them down. The look it gave Raihan, so intense. It made a noise and then disappeared behind a bunch of trees and bushes. 

"Woah. That looked kinda like the pokemon that saved us back in the day." 

"...I think it WAS that pokemon. I feel like it wanted us to follow. Come on!" 

Raihan took Leon's hand as the other boy let out a surprised cry as Raihan led the way. 

They dashed into a huge open field, panting loudly, exhausted from running so fast and sudden. On the other side, the unusual pokemon stood there. In complete silence, it's eyes fixed completely on Raihan. 

  
  


"...Maybe it wants you to catch it?" 

Raihan stared down the pokemon, he stepped forward. 

"Is that it? Do you want to be on my team?" 

The pokemon let out a cry, seemingly in agreement. There was a distant sound of thunder rumbling. Leon raised an eyebrow at this, he squinted ahead trying to see if he could see any storm clouds in the distance. But seemingly, there was none.

"If that's what you want. I'm not sure why, but I've a feeling you know better than me."

Raihan took out his pokeball, tossing it to reveal Flygon. There was once again a huge explosion of thunder above them this time, dark clouds starting to swirl above the pokemon. 

Leon paused for a moment, those clouds looked oddly familiar. As they whirled and circled, a dark red colour began to form. Leon's eyes widened.

"Raihan! Be careful!"

The boy looked back confused, he was about to ask what he meant by that when there was a huge bolt of lightning that exploded in front of them causing Raihan to fall back with the sheer force of energy that surged forward. 

Leon dashed over to see if Raihan was okay and he helped him up slowly. They both looked ahead to see that the pokemon they were facing had changed. 

It was massive, possibly the size of a small skyscraper. It had dynamax energy floating around it, which increased the pressure in the air making it difficult to focus. 

"...It gigantamaxxed." 

Raihan stood back, for once he was terrified. He wasn't sure if his team could take this pokemon out. 

Leon took a step forward, releasing his charizard onto the field. As his bracelet crackled with red sparks, he nodded towards Raihan.

"We got this."

  
  
  


As charizard unleashed a flamethrower on the pokemon, it let out an immense roar that shook the ground. Leon ordered charizard to fly around the back and hit it a few times with air slash in order to weaken it more. 

Raihan glanced over, Leon was completely in the zone. Pokemon battles truly were where he shined the most, every decision he made was very thought out and planned carefully. 

Raihan was absolutely blown away by it, he could see now why Leon was champion. He truly was an incredible trainer. 

Raihan yelled to flygon to use earthquake which rocked the ground back and forth, Leon's charizard unaffected as it was a flying type. 

"Nice! That was very good!" 

Raihan smirked at Leon's comment "I could say the same thing about you!" but as the other was about to joke back, the pokemon let out a desperate roar. 

What looked to be a cystallic shield built itself around it and it seemed Charizard's moves weren't getting through now. 

"I think its finally time buddy! How about we give it a taste of it's own medicine!" 

Charizard growled in agreement as he landed in front of Leon. As he returned to the pokeball, he nodded towards Raihan. 

"Keep hitting it with all you've got. We can break it's shield." 

And with that, the pokeball that contained charizard changed size and Leon tossed it back behind them. 

Raihan shouted more commands to flygon the green dragon obeying every one and the many moves from their foe kept being tossed in their direction were actually being avoided by the agile pokemon.

As charizard was gigantamaxxed, Raihan looked towards Leon. 

"I trust you! Let's hit em one last time!" 

And with that, charizard used G-Max Wildfire and Flygon used earthquake once more. 

The pokemon let out an ungodly screech, its shield coming down and then finally a huge explosion happened.

"Alright! Let's finally end this!"

Leon made his ultraball bigger and tossed it towards Raihan to throw. 

With a huge grunt, Raihan managed to send it flying and the pokemon was sucked into the device. It landed with a huge ** _BOOM_ **. It shook intensely for a moment, before it finally clicked. 

And shrank. 

  
  


Raihan gasped, he couldn't believe it. He ran over, picking it up. Leon laughed happily as he jogged over too. "Wow. That was crazy." Raihan nodded in agreement, as he released the pokemon.

Leon took out his rotom phone and used photo he then took to find out what it was.

"Duraludon! It's a Duraludon! Steel/Dragon type. Now that's a cool pokemon mate!" 

The Duraludon made a happy noise, it held out its stumpy hand. Raihan raised an eyebrow, he saw something shimmer in it. As he reached over, he was shocked to find a wishing star. 

"Oh! So, since the day we met you wanted to be on my team? And you were born special too huh? Like Leon's charizard?"

Duraludon purred as it nodded excitedly. Leon looked over at Raihan. He smiled when he saw how genuinely happy Raihan looked. 

"Now that you can dynamax. I expect the biggest rematch come the finals yeah?" 

Raihan's eyes darted over to him, for a brief moment he didn't react, but a very smug expression crept onto his face. 

"Oh. Most definitely!"


	12. Chapter 12

_ And with that! Sandaconda is down!"  _

Raihan growled out loud as he withdrew his fainted pokemon, he whispered to the pokeball close to him.

"Thanks buddy. You did really well...Have a nice rest." 

"Looks like were both down to our last pokemon Raihan! Ready to admit defeat?"

The other trainer smirked, as he took out an ultraball. It was the finals, the crowd was going insane, Raihan still wasn't used to the immense cheering. It was a little overwhelming. But that look on Leon's face when he was battling? 

So attractive. He wanted so bad to beat him, but he did find himself getting distracted by the other trainer.

"I still have one pokemon left you goon! You act like it's all been decided!" 

And with those words, he sent his final pokemon out. When Duraludon landed on the pitch, it roared out in excitement which got a smirk from Leon. They both knew what was going to happen next. 

"You ready to go all out?!"

And both trainers recalled their pokemon, but this time before Raihan tossed his pokeball back, he whistled over to Leon. 

When the champion made eye contact with him, Raihan gave him a cheeky wink which actually flustered Leon for a second before he composed himself. The whole arena filled with dynamx energy as it floated in the air. 

Both giant pokemon faced each other, their faces determined. 

"Duraludon! Use G MAX DEPLETION!" 

The pokemon let out a huge humming noise, as dark aura began to form and it was sent flying forwards. It didn't seem to hit very hard. 

"Alright! Charizard use G-Max Wildflare!" 

But a huge beeper noise sounded, Leon discovered to his dismay, flamethrower's PP had been depleted. 

Raihan's face turned to a feral grin, he let out a roar as he crossed his arms. 

"Whatcha gonna do now champ!" 

Leon racked his brain for a solution, he could use his solar beam, but steel resisted it. He had one earthquake left, but was that enough to take out Duraludon? 

He had to take that risk. 

"Use Max Quake!" 

As the ground shook with the biggest force, Duraludon let out a roar as it's HP ran down to 1 HP. 

Leon's eyes widened, he stared ahead worried to see what Raihan would do. 

Leon's Duraludon unleashed the dragon type g-move which sent wind flying towards Charizard which hit him bad. 

Both pokemon left on 1 HP, Raihan realised now. Leon had the last hit, he prayed for the move to fail or miss. But with Leon being the lucky bastard that he is, that was very unlikely.

"I'm sorry Raihan! I've got a title to defend and I will defend it greatly!"

And with that, Charizard unleashed Max Airstream which was definitely overkill with how little health Duraludon had. His pokemon let out a cry, as an explosion sounded. Sparks went flying and crackling as charizard shrank behind Leon. 

_ "And just like that! Leon has defended his champion title! Is this the start of a winning streak for this young new champion?!"  _

Raihan returned his pokemon, thanked them greatly and then he stared over at Leon. He had lost. Again. But strangely? He wasn't as mad as he was last time. Disappointed? Yes. Heartbroken? No.

He was fired up, brimming with energy as he shrugged. 

Both trainers approached each other and shook hands. Leon had a smug smile as he did so. 

"That was perhaps my favourite battle so far. Too bad for you though!"

Raihan smirked, he shook his head.

"It was a great battle. I'll beat you next year. I'm not giving up just yet."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

  
  


After the finals, everyone was unwinding in the locker room

The adrenaline was starting to wear off, the two looked at each other and smiled. Both sat very close to each other, their hands nearly touching. 

"I know we have our rivalry going on. But I...I had a lot of fun today. I'm not even that mad I lost." 

Leon gave him a soft look. His heart began to race.

_ Take this hand Raihan. Do it. Do it! _

Raihan was about to place his hand on Leon's when Nessa and Milo approached them. 

"Hey! Chairman Rose is having a little party later on in his penthouse. He wants all of us to attend. You guys in?"

Leon leaned forward and nodded excitedly "Of course I am! How about you Raihan?" 

The other trainer deep inside annoyed that their moment alone was ruined but he kept a happy face and smiled. 

"Yeah! Just send us on the deets will ya Ness?" 

The water type gym leader gave him a quick thumbs up as she left and Milo glanced towards Leon.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you later Leon!" 

Raihan froze, the tone of Milo's voice? He was very flirty. Did...Did he like Leon too?

His eyes quickly darted to Leon to see his response. 

"Oh! I'll be looking forward to seeing you too Milo! I'm sure it'll be fun!" 

Leon sounded very enthusiastic, which actually caused Raihan to panic internally. As Milo left, the duo got up and started to leave the locker room.

"I have to go back and get changed. I'll meet you at the party?" 

Raihan gulped loudly and he nodded. 

As they went their separate ways, Raihan couldn't shake the green feeling that sat in the pit of his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in 1 day? I'm just excited. The next few chapters have some very interesting conversations 😈


	13. Chapter 13

As Raihan awkwardly fixed the buttons on his shirt, the elevator dinged and arrived at the top floor. 

As it opened, it revealed a big room full to the brim with mingling guests. He glanced around very quickly to find someone he at least knew. 

He then spotted Nessa over by the buffet table and decided even though they weren't too close, she was his best bet. 

"Wow. You clean up nice dragon boy." Nessa laughed as Raihan walked over to her and he waved her off. 

"I mean, I wasn't going to roll up to a formal ish party in my shorts?" 

Nessa raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a look that said she didn't believe him.

"I wouldn't have! If there was anyone to arrive to a party like this it would be Leon!" 

Nessa chuckled to herself as she sipped her drink and looked around.

"Speaking of, where is Mr. Champion. Did you guys not arrive together?" 

Raihan looked away for a moment, he tried not to show his own disappointment

"O-Oh no! He wanted to get ready at his hotel room. But I doubt he's even here yet. He's both really bad with directions and also time." 

Allister appeared seemingly out of nowhere between the two which caused Raihan to jump but Nessa was completely unphased.

"L-Leon. He arrived 5-5 minutes before you did." 

Raihan glanced down at the small kid, he was surprised he was even allowed to come to a party like this. He was sipping on apple juice even with his mask still on. 

"What? Where is he?" 

Allister paused for a moment, trying to remember where he last saw Leon. He then pointed over to the corner of the room. 

Raihan looked in the direction where he was pointing. And his heart sank. 

Leon was chatting away with Milo, both from the looks of it were having a nice conversation as they were laughing and smiling. Raihan's face for a second showed his true feelings but he quickly shook it off and decided to walk over.

He waved his goodbyes to the two others as he wandered over. As soon as he got within earshot, Leon looked over to see him and gave him a bright smile as he waved. 

"Raihan! Hey man!"

Raihan smiled awkwardly as he stood next to Leon as Milo also greeted him.

"Milo was just telling me about how he managed to save his flock of Wooloo from a very hungry Thievul! Isn't that incredible?"

Milo shrugged it off as he tried to appear humble and Raihan raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Not a single one got hurt?"

Milo nodded proudly as he chuckled "Yup! As a farmer you are responsible for every member of your livestock! You gotta be prepared for any situation."

Leon smiled warmly at him

"Wow. That's so cool." 

Raihan's chest felt heavy, Milo was laying on flirt after flirt with Leon to a point where it felt like he was a third wheel. He tried to keep up with their conversations but Milo kept his real focus on Leon.

And Leon was gleefully talking away to Milo, the boy was a social butterfree after all. Raihan wasn't surprised. 

After a moment, Raihan excused himself to go the bathroom. 

He pushed himself into the door and locked it behind him

"Raihan, you need to tell Leon how you feel tonight. I know you told yourself that you weren't ready. But you are.."

Raihan was mumbling a small pep talk to himself, he was shaking slightly and his nerves were on high alert. He took in a deep breath, he was going to go in and ask for a moment alone with Leon.

_ I could do this. I will do this. _

As he pushed the door open, he looked over to where they last were. Milo leaned down, whispered something into Leon's ear and they walked out to the balcony together. 

Raihan's eyes widened as Piers walked up next to him. "Oh? So Milo is finally telling Leon how he feels. Good for him. He's been worrying about that for weeks." 

Raihan glanced over, he felt numb inside. He was too late. 

Raihan nodded to Piers as he walked away silently. The other man an gave him a weird look before shrugging as he watched him leave.

Sonia was standing by the buffet table chatting away when she saw Raihan quickly walked by without even acknowledging her.

"What? Raihan where you going? The party has just started!" 

Raihan gave her a lopsided smile as he waved to her "Just feeling a bit sick. I'm gonna head for the night. Don't worry about me!" and with that he was already in the elevator. 

Sonia was about to speak up but the doors slid close. She sighed loudly but figured he just wasn't in the mood for talking and continued to mingle with other guests. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

Leon followed Milo out to the balcony, the sky above Wyndon was dark due to all the light pollution. But the city itself looked pretty from up here.

"So? What did you want to talk to me about?" 

Milo leaned on the balcony, he stared off into the distance. His normally carefree expression was replaced with a nervous one.

"Listen, ever since you became champion. I've always kinda observed from the sides, we talked occasionally. But we've never gotten a chance to finally talk."

Leon looked over at him, he was unsure where this was going completely. 

"Look. I won't lie to you. I've always sorta mesmerized by your battling and just your personality in general. Which is why.."

Milo turned to actually look Leon in the eye , the other starting to look worried about what Milo was starting to imply.

"I like you. A lot, I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me?"

Leon's whole world felt fuzzy, he had never had someone say something like that. He was shocked, he had no clue Milo felt this way. Had he really been that oblivious? 

Had Milo really been flirting with him this entire time? 

Leon sighed loudly, he looked away. He loved being around Milo, he was fun to talk to and laugh with.

But, he didn't feel the same way. 

"Milo. I'm sorry. I just ...don't like you that way. T...There's someone else." 

Milo's face fell, he nodded as he sadly took that in. Guilt gripped at Leon's heart but he couldn't change how he feels. 

"If it's okay to ask, who?" 

Leon glanced up at the sky, he began to think about Raihan and how he made him feel. 

"It's Raihan." 

A silence fell between the two, a breeze danced by and the distant sounds of the busy city were the only thing to be heard. 

"That makes sense. You two have something special. If you feel this way, what's stopping you from telling him?" 

  
  


Leon stopped to think. He had never really thought about why before. He just assumed he was too afraid. But now that he was asked to explain, more layers of complicated feelings came into play. 

"...We had a falling out a while back. If wasn't for very long, but it hurt. After we started talking again, I realised how I felt about him. But I….I wasn't sure if he felt the same way."

Leon's voice cracked as he spoke, this was something he very clearly had never told anyone. Milo listened carefully, he urged him to keep going. 

"And...I guess. I was afraid if I told him I had a crush on him. It would go weird again. I...I didn't want to risk it." 

Milo looked over at him, the lights from below illuminating the glossiness of his eyes and Leon tried to subtly blink them away. 

"...Listen. You can't spend your whole life being afraid of messing up a relationship. It's not healthy."

Leon was watching Milo who then continued to speak more as he looked on ahead.

"The more eggshells you walk on, the more it damages your relationship as a whole. If Raihan truly is a good friend, which I believe he is. He wouldn't let something like that ruin it." 

Leon's mouth opened to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. He took a minute to fully digest what was said to him. Milo patted him gently on the back. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't return your feelings Milo. I truly am."

The gym leader gave him a sad smile "It's okay. I'm glad you were able to be so open with me. All I want is for you to be happy."

Milo decided it was best to go back inside, he figured Leon had a lot to think about after this conversation. He turned back once more to Leon.

"I do believe Raihan feels the same way. You should see the way he looks at you." 

And with that, Leon heard the door quietly shut and he was left alone with his thoughts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> starting to reach endgame here! I'm glad you all have been supporting this work and have took the time to comment on it!
> 
> It truly means the world 😭💞


	14. Chapter 14

Leon stood there for ten minutes on his own. His mind racing alive with thoughts after his chat with Milo. 

He then looked up, extremely determined. Slamming his fist on the stone balcony, he ran back inside. He burst into the room, dozens of faces. But he couldn't see the one person he was searching for. 

His eyes landed on Sonia, who he was a bit surprised to actually see here. 

"What? How did you get in?"

Sonia glanced over at him, frowned for a moment before she laughed quietly. 

"You can bring plus ones y'know."

Leon looked at her, who was she a plus one for?

Then suddenly Nessa approached them and passed Sonia a new drink. Their hands linking together. 

It took Leon a moment to put two and two together. He yelled out as he stared at them.

"What?! How are you guys a thing?"

"Well not all of us are oblivious idiots who take forever to realise they like each other!"

Leon was about to defend himself but she reminded him of what he was doing in the first place. 

"Oh! Speaking of, where is Raihan? I need to talk to him."

Sonia flashed him a curious look, she was getting very intrigued. 

"Oh? He said he was heading home like 20 minutes ago. Said he wasn't feeling well." 

"He left? Then he's probably gone back to his hotel. I need to go find him."

Leon legged it to the elevator and Sonia shouted out to him "Wait! You're terrible with directions!" but he was gone before he could even hear what she said.

Sonia groaned loudly as she shook her head and Nessa walked up. 

"You really deal with this every day?"

"Yeah. I love them but they're absolute fools." 

  
  


Raihan sat alone in his hotel room, the storm that had been brewing for the last 20 minutes was rumbling and wind was truly starting to pick up.

He was sitting at the bottom of his bed. Staring blankly at the floor, his mind racing. 

An image of Leon flashed in his head and he shook it, groaning loudly to himself. He tried to imagine how the other was going right now. 

He figured Leon was with Milo. The idea of them kissing made Raihan visibly cringe and he let out a ragged breath. 

He placed his head in his hands and felt every bit of emotion in his body break past his walls in on swift moment.

His body shuddered and heaved as he let out soft contained sobs. 

He literally could feel his heart breaking. Raihan didn't realise his literal that saying was until now.

As he quietly cried, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Raihan froze, he glanced up. He wasn't going to let the person in but to his horror, the lock clicked open. 

And he never would've guessed who would have walked in. 

Leon stood there, his body dripping wet from the rain and clothes stuck to his skin. 

"H-Hey.."

  
  
  


Soft low light of the candles illuminated the small hotel room. The electricity had gone due to the storm. 

Raihan handed Leon another fluffy blanket and the other boy graciously accepted it. They sat in front of the fireplace, the sound of crackling wood was the only thing to be heard.

The two sat in complete silence, but occasionally one would sneak a glance at the other. 

It was a long time before Raihan finally spoke.

"Why did you decide to walk over in that storm? I won't be surprised if you catch a cold from that."

Leon let out a quiet laugh as his cheeks blushed red with embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head as he looked directly at Raihan.

"I heard you left. I got worried about you." 

Raihan raised an eyebrow. 

"You could have just called me. You didn't have to trek all this way. I mean, you left Milo behind. Isn't that a bit rude of you? Typical though." 

Leon's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Raihan's tone, it was harsh but a trickle of sadness lingered in his voice. 

"And what do you mean by that?"

Raihan's nose scrunched up as he let our a snarl to himself as he looked away.

"I mean that's what you do best Leon. Leave people behind. If something more important comes up, you're gone. Great friend you are huh?"

Leon jumped up, his eyes welling up with tears. 

"How could you say that? You're the one assuming things Raihan. You literally know nothing about what happened." 

The other boy's body loosened up. He stood there, silently. 

  
  


Leon's face was a mixture of anger and hurt emotions. He picked up his coat and began to leave. Right before he did though, Leon made one last comment.

"You just want a reason to be mad."

  
  


Before Raihan could process what had just happened, the door slammed closed. 

_ God, why did I say that. _


	15. Chapter 15

Raihan dashed outside, the rain was falling in an extremely heavy downpour. He frantically looked around, screaming Leon's name. 

He groaned as he ran forward, taking out his phone and dialed Leon's number. He heard it ring and ring but in the end he was greeted by his overly enthusiastic voicemail. 

Raihan felt a pang in his heart when he heard it and hung up. 

He then stopped in the middle of the street. He racked his brain for where Leon could have gone. He then stopped, looking in the direction of the Wyndon Stadium

Raihan couldn't explain why, but his gut was telling him that was the place.

  
  
  


As he entered into the dark locker room , he saw a very dejected looking Leon with his head hanging low sitting on one of the benches. 

Raihan cleared his throat and the other boy lifted his head slowly.

Leon didn't respond. He just glared at him and looked away. Raihan sighed as he knew that he deserved that. 

"...What is it." 

Leon's voice was so cold, it was dripping with venom and detachment. 

"I...I was worried about you. You literally ran out here in a thunderstorm." 

Leon let out a short sniffle, although he had somewhat dried off, Raihan could clearly see he had walked here.

"I guess that's what I do best huh? Leave?" 

Raihan winced at that, he could feel it cut right into him with the amount of pain that was carried in his tone. 

"...I shouldn't have said that."

Leon let out a short shaky laugh, he sat back and crossed his arms. He looked up at the ceiling. 

"You know. I never thought you would be the kind of guy to resort to that kind of low blow sorta thing."

Raihan exhaled loudly, shame was slowly bubbling up in his stomach. He knew what he had said earlier was wrong, Leon had a point. He made it clear before he had left the room.

"You were right. I just wanted a reason to be mad."

Leon raised an eyebrow, he leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. 

"Okay so. Why were you mad in the first place?"

Raihan tensed up, he looked away. 

"I...I can't say."

"You can. And you will. I deserve to know why you decided to say something like that."

Raihan's head shot up, he had never heard Leon sound so assertive before. The tone was so demanding. But admitting to what happened? It would be obvious that he was jealous. And Raihan was ashamed of that.

"I really can't."

Leon let out a dry laugh, Raihan's heart sank. What normally was something that filled him with a fuzzy feeling and joy, was hollow and empty. 

"You really think that was okay? To speak to me like that? And not have an explanation? And to think! I was the one worried about ruining our relationship." 

Raihan stood back, his eyes darted off the ground as he took in every word Leon was saying. Many times Leon's voice cracked during that sentence. That last sentence really stuck out to Raihan.

"God. I know you bottle up your feelings but you can't say things like that. The way you said it? Was so hurtful."

Leon's face looked so betrayed, his eyes with a glossy sheen to them as he tried not to cry.

"Don't you understand? You can't do this whenever you are upset. You are going to push everyone away."

Raihan looked up, Leon's expression had changed. It was fear. Like a scared little kid. He was waiting to see how Raihan would react.

"...You're right. I guess I had really pushed those feelings down without properly dealing with them."

For a brief moment, relief washed over Leon's face but it was replaced with a blank one within seconds.

"That anger? Was something I didn't even realise was stewing. It came out like a dam breaking its bank. But that doesn't make it any better. I can't take it back. But I can try make it up to you.'

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Leon was actually waiting for Raihan to finally explain himself. After about a minute or two, Raihan got the hint. He let out a shaky breath before speaking.

"...I was jealous. I hated how Milo was flirting with you. I hated that he asked to speak to you privately which totally meant he was going to ask you out ...and?"

Raihan felt a lump in his throat, which almost preventing him from admitting it out loud but he swallowed it and kept going.

"I left because if i saw you guys kiss or something? It would have literally caused me to break down at the party. And that pent up frustration led to what I said earlier." 

Leon took in every word, he was thinking very carefully on how to respond to that.

He was terrified of what Leon was going to say. He hoped things weren't ruined between them.

"...I rejected Milo y'know." 

Leon's way of speaking was quiet and somber. He made direct eye contact with Raihan.

"But this goes without saying. Even if I hadn't rejected Milo. The way you handled things earlier? Uncalled for." 

Raihan nodded, allowing himself to properly listen to everything being said to him. Even if it was hard to hear. 

"...I understand. I'm sorry Leon. I really truly am." 

Leon gave him a sigh as he walked over. His yellow eyes that were once cold, started to soften and he finally managed to crack a small smile. 

"Thank you. I'm glad you understand.." 

Raihan's whole body became less tense as he exhaled loudly in relief. Leon rolled his eyes as he leaned on his shoulder.

"So. You have a crush on me? Huh." 

His voice was a bit awkward, Leon was trying to lift the tension somewhat. 

Raihan's cheeks went bright red as he covered them instinctively and a snicker escaped the champion beside him.

  
  


"No need to get so flustered. It's not like its unrequited or anything?"

Raihan's eyes widened, small splutters of words that made no sense came out. Leon snorted out loud as the corners of his lips curled slightly. 

"Took us long enough? Huh?" 

Both of them quietly chuckled.

Raihan paused for a moment, he took one look towards Leon and he cleared his throat anxiously. 

"I uh. I was wondering if...maybe...we could?"

Leon raised an eyebrow as he gave him a cheeky smirk as the other continued to mumble his sentences. 

"What's that Raihan? Speak up! I can't hear you!"

The other boy inhaled deeply as he leaned in and kissed Leon which definitely caught him off guard. The purple haired champion took a second to process this , before he melted into the kiss and wrapping his arms around the other. 

Raihan's fingers were getting tangled in Leon's messy hair as the kiss deepened and Leon found himself suddenly being pushed against the wall. He yelped loudly in shock as a flush of pink engulfed his face. 

Raihan laughed as he figured that was too much for the poor boy for now. He finished off their moment by leaving a mark at the base of Leon's neck which caused a small shudder in his rival. 

As they finally broke apart, Raihan took out his rotom phone and gestured to Leon to join in the selfie. 

"Let's at least let Sonia know her days as a our wing woman are finally over." 

  
  


As the camera flashed, this time Leon gave a quick peck on Raihan's cheeks which got a big blushy reaction from the gym leader. 

"Just thought it would make for an interesting pic."

"Hah! I bet it did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that? I think that's all he wrote! well! 
> 
> I do have an epilogue which will update here whenever I have it finished!
> 
> I really really hope you guys enjoyed this, this was my first ever slow burn and I'm very happy with how this came out! It wasn't perfect but I think for a first time it came out okay!
> 
> Maybe in the future I'll write more for this pairing in this universe but for now I'm worn out!  
You guys really made this a joy to do, I cant thank ye enough!  
keep an eye out in the future for more from me!
> 
> (also I suck at writing and describing kisses pls dont @ me LOL)


	16. Epilogue

Leon was fumbling with his shirt, he hated wearing fancy clothes. 

"Sonia? Can't I just wear what I normally wear?"

Sonia came over, helping him tie the cuffs properly. 

"Absolutely not! This is your 1 year anniversary! I will under no circumstances let you wear your freaking uniform to it!" 

Leon grumbled loudly as he checked his phone to make sure he was on time. 

"Whatcha up to for the evening anyways Sonia?" 

The girl sat next to Nessa, who pulled her back onto the couch for a cuddle 

"Eh? Just a quiet night in with Nessa. Nothing big." 

Leon cooed at her to which she just laughed and Nessa threw a pillow in his direction which he easily dodged.

"Shut up you! Don't you have a boyfriend to ruthlessly tease?" 

And with that, they heard a small chuckle from the other side of the room. Raihan was leaning against the door frame, all dressed up. Leon's pupils widened the moment he saw him.

No matter how many times he saw Raihan, he couldn't help but literally crumble to pieces.

"Pick your jaw off the floor babe. I know I look good tonight but you need to get a hold of yourself!" 

Raihan sneered playfully causing Leon to scoff loudly as he tried to play it off.

"I actually just caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Sorry if my reaction gave you the wrong impression!" 

As the two boys once more started their banter train, Sonia coughed loudly which caused them to look over her.

"If you two lovebirds keep this up, you'll miss your reservation." 

Leon flushed red as he smiled embarrassed while Raihan rolled his eyes while he flashed a smirk. 

"Alright! See ya later you two!" 

Sonia giggled as she waved them off and Nessa herself couldn't stop a small smile forming on her face.

  
  


"Those boys have it bad for each other." 

"They sure do. It's cute though."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  


After dinner, Raihan and Leon found themselves walking through the quiet city. They talked for ages, just loving being in the other's company. As the couple finally reached the big fountain in the heart of the city, they stopped for a few minutes. 

"You know? I've known you my whole life basically. If you told 12 year old I would be in this position. I would never have believed it." 

Leon glanced over, Raihan was staring up at the sky. His eyes were sparkling, that kind of look always had Leon staring. 

He couldn't stop himself.

Raihan paused and his gaze fell onto Leon. With a cheeky smirk, he laughed.

"You really like me don't you huh! How embarrassing!"

Raihan teased which caused Leon to snicker as he gave him a gentle push. The two stood there, the silence didn't bother them. In fact? It was a comforting feeling. 

Raihan felt joy flutter in his chest, he glanced towards the other. Leon was still busy, often times he would have to leave last minute to go to some meetings. While it was frustrating at times. Raihan had grown to accept it as dating Leon was the best thing to ever happen to him.

It also made moments like this all the more sweeter. 

As time went on Leon's mind was starting to get preoccupied with other thoughts. Raihan was talking, but Leon was barely keeping up.

Raihan noticed this, he stopped and cleared his throat.

This knocked the champion out of his daydream. 

"O-Oh sorry! I didn't realise my mind had wandered off."

Raiahn gave him a soft look, he sat down on a bench and gestured for him to join.

Leon did so, a bit confused by Raihan's actions. 

"I can tell something is on your mind. Are you okay?" 

Leon's cheeks had a tickle of pink in them as he looked away. He bit his lip nervously and Raihan felt a ball of anxiety build up.in his gut. But after a moment, he relaxed and squeezed Leon's hand.

"You know you can tell me anything. Right?"

Leon looked up, he half smiled and he exhaled out loud. 

"I overheard Nessa talking to Sonia the other day. Mentioning how you should consider trying to become the champion of another region." 

Raihan stared at him, unsure where this came from. Leon's voice was shaking as he continued to speak. 

"And I was wondering. Why don't you? I mean, you clearly are very capable. I've heard Sinnoh has a strong champion mayb-"

Raihan laughed as he took Leon's hands and stopped him mid sentence. 

"But I don't want to. I'm not interested in becoming champion somewhere else." 

Leon froze and gave him a puzzled look. His eyes darted back and forth before they fell onto him again.

"But why? You're so strong. It has been your dream since you were a kid. And I…don't understand why you aren't interested." 

Raihan sat back, staring ahead of them as he thought to himself. 

Sure, he could be champion in Sinnoh. Maybe even Unova? But that didn't intrigue him. And why? The answer was simple.

"I'm not interested because none of the champions are you. My dream was to become champion of Galar sure. But now all I'm aiming for? To beat you someday." 

"Well, that's romantic." 

Raihan chuckled as he shook his head and he turned back to him. 

"I mean it as it's only fun to enter the league knowing you are the endgame." 

Leon's face was very serious, he looked as if he was racking his brain about what he was going to say next. He sighed and leaned back. 

"But what if I lose the championship one day? What do you do then?" 

Raihan smiled as he leaned against him "Hey there. I thought your name on the pitch was the "Unbeatable Leon"." And Leon snorted as they both burst into laughter. 

"Listen. I know we don't get to see each other very often. So, I want to make a deal with you. Romantic styles." 

That sparked Raihan's interest immediately as a feral grin snuck onto his face. "What kinda romantic styles are we talking about?" he said under his breath and Leon scoffed as he gently hit him on the shoulder. 

"Not the way you're thinking anyways! That can wait until later." 

Raihan huffed and Leon continued to talk between laughs. 

"If I am champion for the next few years to come. If nobody has beaten me by let's say, my 5th year. I'll forfeit my title." 

"What?! Why would you do that?"

Leon pulled Raihan in for a cuddle and he continued speaking. 

"Because while being champion is fun and awesome. There's other things I hope to accomplish in my life. Like, a life with you." 

Raihan's eyes widened, a pink blush spreading across his face. He looked over at Leon who looked a bit nervous after he had said that. 

"I...Are you proposing to me?" 

"In a manner of speaking? Yeah. But like not officially. We can do that properly one day." 

The two sat in silence, Raihan couldn't stop a small smile from creeping onto his face. 

"If that's what you wanna do. Let's do that."

Leon looked up, he leaned in and the two kissed very tenderly. As they pulled apart, they giggled at each other like school girls.

The whole world around them, didn't matter. What mattered right now to the both of them, is that they were here. Together. 

"I love you Leon, so much."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And! For now we are done! I do plan to do more stories with these two! But as of right now, my brain is fried from writing so much!
> 
> It was so fun though! These two hold a special place in my heart even though the games havent even been out for that long! 
> 
> Now I dont know how long Leon was champion in the games but this kind of story takes place out of canon anyways so who cares!
> 
> Thank u guys once again for reading. Means so much!
> 
> <3 <3 <3


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